Design Success and Failure in Relation to Syntactical Guidelines

This is a poster designed for a Miami book fair.The 25 book covers are grouped together and are the most prominent part of the poster.  If the books were randomly placed all over the poster and were different sizes, it would imply that some books are more important or better than others but with all the books placed side my side in nice neet rows, all seem equally important which helps contribute to the message that all books of the last 25 years are being celebrated equally with this book fair.  The arrangement of the books also creates balance and gives the sense of harmoniousness which is a very appropriate feeling to extract from viewers when representing a book fair that is celebrating books.

In this poster for National Poetry Month, the red letters dominate the poster but the way they are laid out poorly communicates that the poster is about poetry.  Poetry usually has district rhythm or pentameter.  It is usually a very structured and organized style of writing, or in other words, it has rationality and balance.  This poster on the other hand has a lot of stress in the way the letters are arranged.  The letters are different sizes, they are presented at different angles, and they are not on an even plane of existence.  This demonstrates kayos and disorder which is the complete opposite of the kind of writing that poetry is.  The way the text is displayed gives the illusion of movement that would be more appropriate for a poster about a preforming art like dance but not really for poetry.  

Visual vs Symbolic Language

Literal Representations

Person

Monitors

Building

Unemployment rates rising

Symbols
Arrow pointed up
Written English Language

This photograph visually communicates that unemployment rates are on the rise with the use of the written english language, which is a symbol system using phonetic sounds and a symbol of an arrow pointing up.  The written language denotes unemployment rates and the arrow signifies that they are on the rise.  The person in the photo is sitting with their head in their hand which sends a visual message of stress and in a state of waiting.  This component is very integrated with the symbols in the image because together they communicate that unemployment rates are rising and that it is very stressful for people as they wait for this to change.  Without the symbols, the image would not be able to communicate that it was addressing unemployment rates, and without the person, them image could not communicate how people feel about the presented information.  This image could be replaced by a person who looks very stressed, in a long line at the unemployment office and it would communicate a similar message.

Meaning 2: Interactions Between the Three Levels

This is a neon sign for a coffee shop that demonstrates all three levels of visual design communication.

Representational
In the center of the sign we recognize the representational form of a hot cup of coffee.  It plays a decorative role in the sign and it provides extra light, making the sign more noticeable.  The coffee cup is a visual representation of what the letters around it are symbolizing.

Abstract
The representation of a cup of coffee in the middle of the sign has been greatly abstracted.  This was done so because the medium, neon lights, does not allow for complex representations.  This abstraction of a warm cup of coffee may also have an emotional impact on viewers. This abstraction of a coffee cup is very warm and inviting, and since it is most likely to be viewed outside and maybe even in the cold, those who see it may suddenly desire hot coffee to help warm themselves up.

Symbolic
The words on the sign, "espresso coffee" are made up of symboles that together denote that the shop in which the sign is found has espresso coffee.  These symbols have an informative impact on the viewer.  The letters on the sign symbolize what the abstraction in he center represents.

Meaning 1

Representation


This children's desk uses representation in its design.  Even without the little "School Bus" sign, we can recognize that the desk is designed to look like a school bus by its bright yellow color, the black circles which represent whiles, the white squares which represent windows, and the black stripe along the side which is characteristic of school buses.  Dondis states on page 67 of A primer of Visual Literacy that representational visual messages are derived from what we see and recognize from our environment.  The decorative elements of this desk come together to create the familiar appearance of a traditional school bus. 

Abstraction



This is an abstract representation of the Deathly Hallows from the Harry Potter series.  The Deathly Hallows are three magical objects that are each represented by a shape in this abstraction.  The line down the center represents a wand, the circle represents a resurrection stone, and the triangel represents a cloak of invisibility.  An abstraction according to Dondis is something "reduced to its basic elemental visual concepts"  Each of the three objects represented in this mark is reduced to its basic shape which would be its "basic elemental visual concept"  In the Harry Potter series, if this mark showed up on an object or person, it was an indication that that person or object was somehow related to the legend of the deathly hallows, or that the person simply believed in their existence,  However, in the real world, if somebody is sporting this abstraction, it most likely means that they are simply a fan of the Harry Potter series.

Symbol





This is the peace symbol.  It is a universal symbole that denotes the abstract concept of peace. The shape in the center is supposed to be an olive branch which has been the symbol of peace since the time of the ancient Greeks.  They believed that Eirene was the goddess of peace and that the olive was very important to her.  It is for this reason that the concept of peace has adopted this symbol.  Many people may not know the reasoning behind the symbol but most people can recognize it as the peace symbol because it is such a universal symbol.